by Victor Kotsev and Jacob Resneck, Special for USA TODAY

by Victor Kotsev and Jacob Resneck, Special for USA TODAY

Correction: A earlier version of this story misidentified a 22-year-old student. His name is Ozan Horuk.

ISTANBUL - Hundreds of riot police evicted protesters in Gezi Park at dusk Saturday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets and using water hoses in a bid to put down anti-government demonstrations that have been raging for more than two weeks.

Police lines spread out from the park - where demonstrators have been camped out for weeks - to the adjacent Taksim Square. Witnesses reported police using megaphones yelling for protesters to "evacuate."

Earlier Saturday in the capital of Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "Taksim Square must be evacuated, otherwise, we know how to evacuate it," while blaming the turmoil on foreign agents and local criminals.

The scene at Gezi Park was one of chaos as demonstrators tried to flee in a fog of gas, causing panic and injuries as people fell and got caught in the stampede.

"I was sleeping in my tent in Gezi Park, and police attacked," said Huseyn Basar Ahenk. "A tear gas grenade fell on my tent, and I ran without my belongings. The park is full of police now."

Volunteer medics treated the injured for tear gas exposure, burns from the gas and trauma from being hit by gas canisters. Ambulances ferried the seriously wounded to nearby hospitals. Hundreds took shelter in the luxury Divan Hotel across the street.

"The police came into Divan Hotel with batons, and there was fighting and many injured," Ozgun Ozan said.

Four people have died and thousands have been injured since the demonstrations began, according to Amnesty International.

On Friday, the prime minister began to concede to protesters by offering to defer to a court ruling on the legality of the government's contested plan that calls for the park to be demolished to make way for a shopping complex.

Despite such concessions, protesters say they are in it for the long haul - until the government stops its heavy-handed decision-making and holds accountable those responsible for the violent attacks on peaceful demonstrations.

Ugur Altinsoy, 20, a student, vowed that the police crackdown would not discourage demonstrators. "We will try to retake Gezi Park," he said.

Altinsoy said more friends were traveling across the Bosphorous from the Asian side of the city to help re-occupy the park. Riot police sealed Taksim Square as crowds began to gather behind.

"Turkey will live its darkest night if this attack lasts for more than one hour," said General Secretary of the Turkish Medical Chamber Ali Cerkezoglu, according to Turkish daily Hurriyet.

The protests caught Turkish officials and their international allies off-guard: Turkey, which has been touted as a bastion of stability and democracy in the region, is suddenly projecting scenes similar to those seen in Egypt, Tunisia and other countries during the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

Meanwhile, the international image of Turkey's prime minister, champion to rebels fighting against Bashar Assad's regime in neighboring Syria, is now in question, as is the future direction of the country.

That's because although the protests initially began as an Occupy-style movement against the building of a mall and a mosque on Gezi Park next to the square, the reasons for the mass outrage go much further. Demonstrators claim Erdogan's administration has grown increasingly tyrannical in the past decade, and in recent months, his government made moves to roll back liberties Turks have enjoyed for years.

Late last month, parliament passed a law severely restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol. At the same time, authorities warned against "immodest" public displays of affection, triggering a nationwide "kissing protest."

Others express concern that Erdogan is setting himself up as "leader for life" and increasing a crackdown on dissent while limiting free speech and press freedoms.

Ozan Horuk, 22, a student, said Gezi Park is a symbol. As important as the park is, he says, the movement has mushroomed into something much broader across Turkey.

"When things started it all started for the trees, for our rights to have a park right in the middle of the city," he said. "But then it turned out to be a different thing. And the only thing we fight for is our freedom - freedom of speech, freedom in general."